For those of us interested in sustainable community development, Wal-Mart (WMT) is a hard company to like, let alone love.  Even with its move toward more energy-efficient stores and selling more environmentally-friendly and organic products, it is a reflex for many of us to be Wal-Mart haters.  But given the enormity of the company, is dismissing Wal-Mart offhand worse than engaging with it seriously?

Danielle Sacks' profile of Adam Werbach in the September issue of Fast Company details such an abrupt about face.  Werbach, former president of the Sierra Club and current CEO of Act Now, has gone from vilifying the big-box store to consulting for it.  His friends and clients were up in arms when he decided to take on Wal-Mart as a client but Werbach has never been one to shy away from controversy. 

Werbach's firm is currently working with Wal-Mart to teach the company's U.S. employees about sustainability.  He sees the employees as a microcosm of American consumers, and a testing ground for the expansion of sustainability to a wider audience outside of cities, coastal areas and college towns – a grand endeavor, considering that Wal-Mart has 1.3 million employees in the U.S.  But if he succeeds, perhaps Werbach will be joined by more environmentalists, as well as investors, in embracing Wal-Mart.